Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) faces another spat with subsidiary Ben & Jerry's after the ice cream brand's board called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Anuradha Mittal, chair of Ben & Jerry's independent board, told the Financial Times that “peace is a core value” to the business, a principle it has stood for in previous conflicts such as Iraq and Ukraine.
Today, Mittal said the board was calling for "peace and a permanent and immediate ceasefire" in Gaza.
The move comes a year and a half after Ben & Jerry's sued its parent company in an attempt to block the sale of its Israeli businesses to a local licensee, following the brand's decision to end sales in the occupied West Bank and parts of East Jerusalem as it was "inconsistent with our values".
Unilever, which guaranteed independence to the brand's board when it acquired the ice cream maker in 2002, won the legal battle later that year.
Ben & Jerry's stand in calling for a ceasefire is rare in the corporate world, something that Mittal noted.
The complexity of this situation is further highlighted by Unilever board member Nelson Peltz last month standing down as chair of Jewish human rights organisation the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which called for a boycott of Ben & Jerry’s and previously branded the brand's attempt to stop selling its wares in the West Bank "antisemitic".
For Unilever boss Hein Schumacher, seven months into the job, its just another unwanted item to think about, along with the recent greenwashing probe, as he tries to drive the new strategy of faster growth, greater productivity and simplicity that he unveiled in the autumn.